Newspaper shares close lower

DavidB. Wilkerson

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Newspaper stocks were among the most significant decliners on a down day for media and entertainment stocks Wednesday, following news of layoffs at The New York Times Co. and Knight Ridder.

New York Times Co.
NYT, -2.55%
shares closeat at $30, down $2.13, or 7%. The company warned late Tuesday that third quarter earnings will be lower than expected and said it will cut 500 jobs, or 4% of its staff, as it struggles to cope with a weak media advertising environment. See full story.

Knight Ridder
KRI, -2.65%
fell $1.30, or 2.2%, to close at $58.80 on news that 100 newsroom employees will be laid off from its Philadelphia newspapers, the Inquirer and The Daily News, amid similar ad and circulation problems.

Meanwhile, other stocks in the newspaper group fell in sympathy, as Dow Jones & Co.
DJ
the parent of MarketWatch, the publisher of this report, fell 2% to $38.45; Tribune Co.
TRB, -16.67%
stepped back 2% to $36.30; Gannett
GCI, +0.10%
lost 5.1% to $66.25; and Belo Corp.
BLC, +0.00%
gave up 4.3% to $22.49.

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